episode_0020

Yoo Yeon-hwa, a chaebol heiress and barrier master.

She wasn’t too pleased with the current situation.

‘To think he’d reject my offer and even push it to a bet. Does that make any sense? I’m Yoo Yeon-hwa.’

It was all because of Nam Do-hyung, the top recruit of Cheonjihae.

To be precise, it was because he had refused her offer to join her faction.

The top recruit of Cheonjihae was practically a guaranteed talent.

On top of that, rumors said every team leader had their eyes on him from day one.

He was more than worthy of being recruited into her faction.

So she had swallowed her pride and made the first move.

But she never expected him to outright reject it.

‘If a woman as pretty, rich, and capable as me offers to let you into her faction, shouldn’t you be jumping at the chance? Isn’t that normal?’

Most of the people she had made offers to had done exactly that.

Some even bowed in gratitude as if her offer alone was an honor.

‘Well… I suppose those who aren’t blinded by money and stand their ground are the real talents.’

People like Go Joo-young, Kang Soo-ho, and Mina-hye.

The talents Yoo Yeon-hwa had her eye on all had strong wills of their own.

In that sense, she even respected Nam Do-hyung for rejecting her.

Enough to go through with this ridiculous bet just to force him to join.

“Then let’s begin the match for our bet.”

Somehow, the chairman of Cheonjihae had ended up as the referee.

Even Yoo Yeon-hwa was a little taken aback by this, but it didn’t matter.

As long as she won, that was all that counted.

In fact, having the chairman’s official approval meant she wouldn’t have to worry about any underhanded tricks—it was reassuring.

“The terms of the bet are as agreed: Trainee Nam Do-hyung must break Yoo Yeon-hwa’s barrier and subdue her.”

The specifics of the bet had been decided between the two of them.

Yoo Yeon-hwa had planned to propose a match favorable to herself, pretend to compromise, and then suggest the real match.

But for some reason, Nam Do-hyung had coolly accepted it.

“If successful, Trainee Nam Do-hyung wins. If he fails, Trainee Yoo Yeon-hwa wins. Do you both agree?”

“I agree.”

“Yes! I agree!”

At their answers, the chairman nodded.

“Understood. Then let’s proceed immediately.”

Yoo Yeon-hwa immediately deployed the barrier she took such pride in.

She smiled as if victory was already assured.

‘There’s no way a mere trainee could break my barrier, right?’

Even most veteran exorcists would struggle to break Yoo Yeon-hwa’s barrier.

Even if they tried to dismantle it, her family’s barrier techniques were unique.

Without any prior knowledge, it would take days to undo.

‘Sorry, but this match is mine.’

All Yoo Yeon-hwa had to do now was stand still.

And leisurely watch the man before her struggle in vain to break her barrier.

“…Are you really going in bare-handed? You can use a weapon if you want.”

“I don’t have one.”

Shockingly, Nam Do-hyung had entered the bet unarmed.

Just how did he plan to break a barrier without a weapon?

‘Not that it would change the outcome either way.’

After a quick stretch, Nam Do-hyung began running toward her.

An ordinary woman would’ve been intimidated by the sheer difference in physique alone.

But Yoo Yeon-hwa, confident in her barrier, was so relaxed she even crossed her arms.

‘Perfect. This is my chance to show everyone just how exceptional my family’s barriers are.’

She was already thinking about what she’d make Nam Do-hyung do once he joined her faction.

“Die.”

Crash!

Suddenly, as the man muttered those words, the barrier shattered.

“…Huh?”

Along with the vanished barrier, Yoo Yeon-hwa’s thoughts came to a halt.

She couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.

Why… had her barrier disappeared?

“What the hell—Uwaaahhh!”

A fist slammed into Yoo Yeon-hwa’s stunned face.

For a different reason than before, her vision flashed white.

‘Ow… that hurts?’

As a top-tier barrier master, Yoo Yeon-hwa rarely ever got hit—whether by humans or supernatural beings.

No, this was the first time she’d ever been punched by a man.

And right in the face at that!

But it didn’t end there.

The man who had knocked her down climbed on top of her and began raining down punches.

Thwack! Thwack! Wham!

“Agh! Aaah! You crazy—Ow! What the…!”

She tried to deploy another barrier, but it was impossible.

Every punch sent shocks of pain through her, disrupting her spiritual energy.

In this state, she couldn’t even properly use her barriers.

“Stop! Stop it…! Please stop…!”

Helplessly taking the beating, Yoo Yeon-hwa screamed.

But the man didn’t let up.

…To be fair, Nam Do-hyung was also desperate.

‘If I stop now, I’m the one who’s dead!’

He had already used his one-shot kill ability.

If he lost this chance, he’d be the one getting pummeled.

But was it really okay to beat up a woman like this?

And with punches to the face, no less?

‘Shut up! I’m a gender egalitarian!’

Whether his opponent was a woman or an elder, he always gave it his all.

Because he was the weaker one!

Besides, he had faith that a first-rate exorcist like her could take it.

So Nam Do-hyung punched Yoo Yeon-hwa with everything he had.

“Wh-what the hell is this?”

“Is that really Yoo Yeon-hwa getting beaten up?”

Horror spread among the watching trainees.

They had expected an epic showdown between the top recruit and the famed barrier master.

But the result was an overwhelming victory for the top recruit.

No—more than that, he was giving that chaebol heiress a “proper education.”

“It hurts… Please stop…! Just stop already…!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“Hwaaahhh! I-I was wrong…! Please forgive me…!”

How many punches had she taken by now?

Yoo Yeon-hwa finally broke down in tears and admitted defeat.

Her skirt was even soaked—she had wet herself.

“Hah…! Hah…!”

Only then did Nam Do-hyung stop punching.

Did this mean he had won?

He glanced at the chairman, who gave a slow nod.

“Trainee Yoo Yeon-hwa has admitted defeat, so this match goes to Trainee Nam Do-hyung.”

At the declaration of victory, Nam Do-hyung stood up.

But there were no cheers for the winner.

“Yoo Yeon-hwa! Are you okay?!”

Instead, her faction rushed over to tend to her.

“Oh my god, look at your clothes. Let’s cover you up.”

Sniff! Sniff…! Hic!

“What are you all staring at?! Get lost!”

With her face bruised and her dignity in tatters, Yoo Yeon-hwa was a complete mess.

Her faction quickly wrapped her in a blanket and hurried her away.

If they left her like this, she wouldn’t be able to show her face at the company again.

“…Chairman.”

“What is it?”

Nam Do-hyung scratched his head and asked.

“Did I go too far?”

“You were absolutely brutal! Trainee Yoo Yeon-hwa’s nickname will be ‘Piss Pants’ for a while now!”

The chairman laughed heartily, as if impressed by the sheer trashiness of his new employee.

‘Ah… I’m fucked.’

Even if it was a bet, he had beaten up a chaebol heiress.

And kept going until she was crying in front of everyone.

Naturally, this shocking incident spread like wildfire through Cheonjihae.

“The top recruit beat Yoo Yeon-hwa until she was crying and wet herself.”

“The barrier master Yoo Yeon-hwa? Why?”

“I heard he caught her badmouthing Cheok Ji-yeon?”

“Wow… so he beat up a chaebol heiress for insulting his friend?”

“Total psycho. Let’s not get anywhere near him.”

And just like that, Nam Do-hyung became a legend at Cheonjihae.

I was fucked.

Utterly screwed.

That was the conclusion I reached after careful consideration.

‘To put it in perspective, it’s like beating up Iron Man’s daughter three million times.’

I had punched a chaebol heiress—of all people.

Anyone who expected no backlash had no conscience.

‘Wait, but Yoo Yeon-hwa was the one who proposed the bet, and she set the terms. Wasn’t I just defending myself? Right?’

The only silver lining was that the chairman of Cheonjihae had overseen it.

With an authority figure like that involved, she wouldn’t pull any underhanded revenge.

For now, the matter with Yoo Yeon-hwa was cleanly resolved.

‘The real problem is my image going forward.’

I was already seen as a bit of an oddball among my peers.

After this, I might become known as the world’s biggest trash.

A protagonist who punches a woman until she wets herself?

Wouldn’t even my editor say, ‘Uh, this is kinda risky, author. Are you sure about this plot?’

“Ugh! No point regretting it now. What’s done is done.”

It wasn’t like I fit in to begin with.

At least now no one would dare pick a fight with me. I’d try to look at it positively.

‘…So Instant Death works on barriers too.’

Ghosts, evil spirits, monsters, cursed objects—even curses themselves.

I had confirmed that Instant Death worked on almost everything.

And now, barriers had been added to that list.

‘Isn’t this totally broken?’

Barriers were usually used to block supernatural entities or physical force.

Their strength varied depending on the time and resources poured into them.

Weak barriers could be broken by an exorcist’s punch.

The strongest barriers were considered unbreakable, used for permanent sealing.

‘Instant Death can shatter them regardless of power level.’

It was the ultimate game-breaker in the exorcism world!

Even divine miracles meant nothing before me!

‘…Too bad it’s once a day. A double-layered barrier would be the end of me.’

Simple barriers could be redeployed in seconds or minutes at most.

But my Instant Death was a one-time use, so it wasn’t that overpowered.

If Yoo Yeon-hwa had gotten even a moment to redeploy her barrier, she wouldn’t have been beaten so badly.

“Instant Death is kinda broken, but the limitations keep it balanced.”

Honestly, my current reputation was entirely because of this ability.

I didn’t know whether to love it or hate it.

The only certainty was that without it, I’d have died multiple times by now.

‘Well, even if I’m a one-trick pony, I’ll manage somehow. I’ve made it this far.’

Thankfully, the incident with Yoo Yeon-hwa didn’t change much about my company life.

If anything, more people whispered about me or avoided me.

But that was nothing new, so it wasn’t a problem.

…Still kinda sad, though.

Then, an unexpected issue popped up.

“Ahem! Ahem! I heard the story, Nam Do-hyung. You fought the barrier company’s heiress for me and turned her into a bloody mess.”

Just how distorted had the rumors gotten?

Cheok Ji-yeon, grinning from ear to ear, came to find me.

“Who’d have thought you’d pick a fight with a chaebol heiress just because she badmouthed me a little? Do you like me that much?”

“What? No, I wasn’t defending you.”

“Hmph! You’re so shy.”

“I’m serious. I was just unlucky.”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say. You’re cuter than I thought.”

No matter how much I explained, Cheok Ji-yeon just kept smiling.

Yep, something’s definitely wrong with my ghost company life.